Indiana gangsta rapper Freddie Gibbs has dropped a new song featuring Dana Williams, which effectively lives up to its name “The Hard.”

Gibbs like many other artists of the sort gives off an air of toughness that is undeniable even down to his gruff voice. He does this just as well as anybody else, but he delivers a sort of realism to his words that doesn’t exactly feel like he is trying glorify that kind of lifestyle. The track actually feels like it would totally fit in with the last album from The Roots, Undun, right down to the production. It has that identical sad undertone to it that when it came to Undone, it was because you already knew how the story ended. Above all else Gibbs has managed to deliver the gritty verses necessary to compliment that production.

Great track from Nneka featuring Black Thought from The Roots. Both these artists are known for having topical, hard-hitting lyrics and this track is definitely holding to true to that form as both of them talk about the nature of man and evil. The beat hits really hard with a solid bass line and snare heavy percussion, that builds into a solid guitar riff for the hook. It’s the production that really kinds the theme of the song across making the lyrical impact much heavier. I think there needs to be more tracks with Black Thought, please.

A new track from the Roots, whose last album, How I Got Over, was one of my favorite albums of 2010. The Roots’ next album will be titled Undun, and it’s looking at a December 6th release date.

The first track to drop from this LP, “Make My,” features Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T., which is a match made in heaven from the sound of this track. Though the verses on this song are short, I love the jazzy interlude the band goes in toward the end. Awesome stuff.